Programs Focused on Diversifying Medical Pipeline

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Woman Guilty of Embezzling $200,000 from Education Nonprofit

by Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. — A Eugene woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $200,000 from a nonprofit that promotes career and technical education programs for Oregon high school and community college students. The Register-Guard reports 74-year-old Thelma Clemons pleaded guilty to wire fraud Wednesday related to her attempt to cover up thefts that she carried out […]

Report: Housing, Food Insecurities on Rise for Community College Students

Audit Questions Luna Community College Hiring, Pay

by Associated Press

LAS VEGAS, N.M. ― A recently completed special audit of a Las Vegas, New Mexico, community college is questioning the schools hiring practices. The Las Vegas Optic reports that according to the report there were multiple instances of family members of the Luna Community College president and board members receiving jobs, promotions and substantial pay […]

Ex-Wichita State University Worker Files Discrimination Suit

by Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. ― A former Wichita State University administrative assistant filed a federal lawsuit accusing the university of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Vicki Huntoon said in the lawsuit that she was fired from the university because of her generalized anxiety disorder after two doctors diagnosed the disorder and she requested to work […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

University of Akron Calling for Buyouts, Recruitment Boost

by Associated Press

AKRON, Ohio —The University of Akron plans to offer voluntary buyouts to employees, increase recruiting efforts of international students and restructure its scholarship system to address a looming deficit and declining enrollment. University of Akron President Matt Wilson outlined a two-year plan last week to shore up the school’s finances. The university hopes to finalize […]

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Saint Augustine’s University, Bennett College on Probation

by Reginald Stuart

Two of the nation’s oldest historically Black colleges were placed on probation Tuesday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), signaling the two North Carolina institutions continue to battle financial challenges.

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Arkansas School of Law Dean Ever Mindful of Native American Heritage, Mentoring

by Christina Sturdivant

When Stacy Leeds accepted the position of dean at the University of Arkansas School of Law, she made history. Since 2011, she’s served as the only known Native American woman to lead a law school in the country.

Guiyou Huang Named LSU-Alexandria Chancellor

by Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana State University-Alexandria has a new chancellor. LSU President F. King Alexander announced in a news release Tuesday Guiyou Huang will take over the chancellor’s post on Jan. 1. Huang is currently the senior vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty and professor of English at Norwich University, in […]

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Virginia Tech President Wants to Double Minority Enrollments

by Associated Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. ― Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands is calling on the university to double its enrollment of underrepresented minority groups over the next six years. The Roanoke Times reports that currently, about 12 percent of Tech’s students are Black, Hispanic or of Pacific Islander descent. Sands said during a board of visitors meeting Monday […]

Oregonian Analysis: State College Enrollment Diversifies

by Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — The number of Latino and multiracial students attending Oregon’s public universities has more than doubled in the past seven years, according to an analysis of enrollment records by a Portland newspaper. The state’s public universities collectively saw enrollment rise 5 percent from 2010 to 2016, largely because of an influx of minority […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

Diverse Conversations: What Professor Esolen Gets Right About Diversity

by Matthew Lynch

History professor Anthony Esolen recently came under fire when he penned an article for Crisis magazine that questioned the push for diversity at his workplace: Catholic institution Providence College.

Texas Program ‘Guarantees’ Technical Jobs After Graduation

Regents Name Richard Myers New Kansas State President

by John Hanna, Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Kansas Board of Regents on Tuesday made Richard Myers, a retired four-star general and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, president at Kansas State University, promoting him after he served as interim president since April. The regents voted unanimously to promote Myers to president of the land-grant university in Manhattan, which […]

A female professor who was passed over as chair of the School of Mass Communication can pursue a retaliation claim against North Carolina Central University but not claims for sex discrimination or a hostile work environment.

Conveying the Black College Experience into Distance Learning

There are 6.3 million African-Americans over 25 with some college or an associate degree, and 700,000 set out each year to complete their undergraduate degree. That’s what the executives at Tom Joyner Online Education LLC call a significant “degree completion” audience.

It’s a market, executives say, HBCUs should dominate but have ceded to predominantly online institutions like the University of Phoenix, which has the largest Black student enrollment of any U.S. institution and is the number one producer of bachelor’s degrees awarded to African-Americans.

Launched by radio personality and longtime HBCU booster Tom Joyner, HBCUsOnline is one of two new enterprises — the other an online university being developed by a former Radio One executive for for-profit Latimer Education — seeking to tap into the lucrative online adult higher education market. In addition, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president of Education Online Services Corporation, has partnered with the National Association For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) to build online degree programs at member schools.

The mission of Joyner’s for-profit educational services company is to help HBCU partners increase their market share, enrollment and revenue through marketing to Joyner’s morning show audience — 8 million listeners — and to provide other technical assistance to help them offer degree programs online.

Hampton and Texas Southern universities were the first to sign on with HBCUsOnline, which will launch in January. Hampton already has an extensive online program.

Neil Foote, spokesman for HBCUsOnline.com, says Joyner watched as African-Americans turned to the online-education model to fit in with their busy schedules but became unhappy with the results.

“That got Tom thinking: ‘Why should Blacks go to these ‘new schools’ when Black colleges have been around here for decades educating many of the nation’s Black doctors, lawyers, engineers and teachers?’” Foote says.

Joyner’s and the other programs couldn’t come at a more opportune time, as experts suggest situational variables are pushing more Blacks online as they pursue postsecondary education.

“For-profit institutions provide students with flexible class schedules in order to help them complete their education quickly and without much interruption to competing commitments,” says Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Washington-based Institute for Higher Education Policy. “These seem to be factors important to many Black students, especially those who are first-generation students and who come from low-income backgrounds. Unfortunately, most traditional two- and four-year institutions are limited in offering students the same choices.”

A number of students who enroll in college right after high school end up finishing many years later, leaving for some reason or another, then re-enrolling a few years later.

A 2002 report by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 73 percent of all undergraduates were nontraditional students, defined as those not attending college right out of high school or working while attending. Among those, 81 percent were Black.

How It Will Work

HBCUsOnline primarily connects prospective adult students with HBCUs offering online classes, although Joyner’s company promises to not only bring students in through extensive marketing efforts but to see them through to graduation.

Greg Campbell, CEO of Tom Joyner Online Education, gave a detailed overview of HBCUsOnline at a seminar for HBCUs seeking to go online hosted by Excelsior College this past summer. The company promises to assume some of the risks that keep HBCUs from joining the online education revolution. Its Program Development services, for instance, can help institutions fill gaps in their online offerings or accelerate new programs by “sourcing that content … building it ourselves to your standards or acquiring it through a third party,” according to his presentation materials. Services include an HBCUsOnline Call Center, which will work with prospective students to identify the HBCU program that best suits their needs and help them complete their admissions application to each school.

HBCUsOnline.com expects to differentiate itself with its “Student Support Plus,” which offers assistance to students “from registration to graduation.”

“What makes Black colleges so unique is that they offer students a nurturing, comfortable and confidence-building atmosphere for them to learn, grow and become successful,” Foote says. “That is absolutely the spirit with which we’re moving forward with HBCUsOnline.”

Through the Student Support program, each student will be assigned a “student advocate who has an education or counseling background and has worked in a customer care environment,” according to Campbell’s presentation. While the advocate won’t provide academic advising or tutoring, they will be charged with creating “A Blueprint for Student Success,” which includes an assessment of the student’s learning preferences and an individualized “success plan.”

Tom Joyner Online Education is investing $7 million initially. It’s unclear if the schools are paying Joyner’s company directly or if it generates money from each prospect-turned-enrolled-student who signs up at HBCUsOnline.com.

“It will generate revenue based on fees negotiated with each college,” says Foote, who would not elaborate on the contracts with each school.

HBCUsOnline.com is expected to compete for Black students with schools such as the University of Phoenix — where Blacks represent 39 percent of enrollment — as well as nontraditional universities such as Strayer and DeVry.

While noting concerns about the value of degrees from for-profit institutions, Dr. Marybeth Gasman, an associate professor in the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania, says there is something traditional higher education can learn from these companies. She says traditional institutions may need to implement the advertising tactics used by for-profit institutions, which have become more hip in attracting students.

Cooper agrees. As the unemployment rate remains high and people prepare for the possibility of carving out new careers, for-profit institutions are rolling out the red carpet to help with the transition.

“We are not endorsing for-profit institutions over traditional colleges and universities,” Cooper says. “However, it would be unwise not to take note of for-profit institutions, as they continue to be incredibly effective in reaching out to minority and low-income students. The message (from for-profit institutions) is simple: ‘We understand you have a busy lifestyle with little time to spare, so we’ve created flexible class schedules to meet your needs and help you graduate with a college degree … quickly.’

“Now, who wouldn’t buy into that kind of message?

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